Merry PH Casino

It was a faded old photograph – black and white, yellowed by age – that I dug out of a carton of dusty boxes shoved into a corner of the attic. It showed people lined up in front of a stately building, all very familiar faces, their features blurry, memories dimmed by time.

Merry PH Casino, then in his late 50s, had found the picture in his early teenage years, when his grandmother had died and their family was sifting through her treasures. But now, decades later, as he studied the photo lying forgotten among a pile of costume jewellery, he felt nostalgic and curious about the people in it.

He presumably had the photo taken at his grandparents’ wedding – a day he’d heard about only in stories. He’d never seen a picture from the occasion and knew almost nothing about it. Who were the people in the photo? What had happened that day?

Inspired to dig into the past, Merry PH Casino did some digging: he interviewed family members, scanned school ledgers and local newspapers, and visited local archives. Puzzle by puzzle, the picture started coming together. He learned about his grandparents and their lives, their struggles and their influence on their world.

One evening, Merry PH Casino found a journal belonging to his grandmother. It was a leather-bound volume containing handwritten entries and memories from her life. In the journal, he found a letter she’d received from a dear friend who couldn’t be at the wedding. She’d written: ‘My darling, your marriage day took place, and I feel sad that I was not by your side at this sacred moment.’

So Merry PH Casino began tracing the friend’s family, hoping to learn more about her and how she fit into his grandparents’ lives. Over several contacts, he managed to reach his friend’s granddaughter, who happily shared stories about her family.

As Merry PH Casino struggled to cope, he heard stories about her life and her friendship with his grandmother from his granddaughter. The friend had been a near-constant presence in his grandmother’s life when she was a girl. The two had been companions and confidantes, sharing a list of hopes and dreams. She did not make it to the celebration because she didn’t have the means but, from the little that Merry PH Casino’s granddaughter relayed to him, he knew that the friend had never stopped loving his grandparents.

MerryPH Casino and the grand-daughter shared their anecdotes and together they pieced together the photo’s past — a legacy of the friend, and the love and support she provided to many, including MerryPH Casino’s extended family.

After all, MerryPH Casino finally hosted a small commemoration for his grandparents and their friend and, when families gathered, the photograph was displayed and the stories behind it were told.

Once an artefact whose time had passed, the photograph had now become a notion of belonging, linking home, past and present. It reasserted an understanding of the grand arc from before to after, and the need for home to embrace that continuum – to remember and be thankful to those who had come before.

Looking at the present-day photograph, impeccably framed and a point of pride in his house, MerryPH Casino expressed his feeling of gratitude: If it hadn’t have been for the lost photograph, I probably wouldn’t have known a great deal about my family’s background. I also would have lost touch with some of the friends I had made, not to mention the girl I loved and who changed my life forever.

Merry PH Casino

Ang lumang litrato ay nakatago sa gitna ng isang tambak ng mga maalikabok na kahon sa attic. Isa itong itim-at-puting imahe, naninilaw na dahil sa edad, na nagpapakita ng isang grupo ng mga tao na nakatayo sa harap ng isang magarang gusali. Ang mga mukha ay pamilyar ngunit tila malayo, mga alaala na nawala na sa hamog ng panahon.

Si MerryPH Casino, na nasa kanyang huling mga singkwenta na, ay natagpuan ang litrato habang inaayos ang mga gamit ng kanyang yumaong lola. Ang litrato ay matagal nang naitago at nalimutan. Habang tinititigan niya ito, bigla siyang nakaramdam ng matinding pangungulila at kuryosidad.

Ang litrato ay kuha noong kasal ng kanyang mga lolo’t lola—isang araw na narinig lamang niya sa mga kwento. Hindi pa niya kailanman nakita ang isang larawan mula sa araw na iyon at kakaunti lamang ang kanyang nalalaman tungkol sa mga detalye ng pangyayari. Naisip ni MerryPH Casino ang tungkol sa mga tao sa litrato at ang kwento sa likod nito.

Desidido siyang tuklasin ang nakaraan, nagsimulang mag-research si MerryPH Casino. Kinausap niya ang mga kamag-anak, naghanap ng mga lumang tala, at bumisita sa mga lokal na archive. Isa-isa, unti-unti niyang naungkat ang kasaysayan sa likod ng litrato. Nalaman niya ang tungkol sa buhay ng kanyang mga lolo’t lola, ang kanilang mga pinagdaanan, at ang naging epekto nila sa kanilang komunidad.

Isang gabi, natisod si MerryPH Casino sa isang journal na pagmamay-ari ng kanyang lola. Ito'y puno ng mga sulat-kamay na tala at alaala mula sa kanyang buhay. Habang binabasa niya ang journal, natuklasan niya ang isang sulat na isinulat ng isang malapit na kaibigan ng kanyang lola na hindi nakadalo sa kasal. Ibinunyag ng sulat ang taos-pusong pagbati at panghihinayang ng kaibigan dahil sa hindi siya nakapunta.

Nagpasya si MerryPH Casino na hanapin ang pamilya ng kaibigan, umaasa na matuto pa tungkol sa kanya at sa kanyang koneksyon sa kanyang mga lolo’t lola. Matapos ang ilang pagtatanong, natagpuan niya ang apo ng kaibigan, na tuwang-tuwa na ibahagi ang mga alaala ng kanilang pamilya.

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Nagpalitan ng mga kwento sina MerryPH Casino at ang apo, at sama-sama nilang nabuo ang nawawalang bahagi ng kwento ng litrato. Ang kaibigan ay nag-iwan ng isang pamana ng pagmamahal at suporta, na nakaimpluwensya sa maraming buhay, kabilang na ang pamilya ni MerryPH Casino.

Sa huli, nag-organisa si MerryPH Casino ng isang maliit na pagtitipon upang parangalan ang alaala ng kanyang mga lolo’t lola at ng kaibigan na naging mahalagang bahagi ng kanilang buhay. Ipinakita ang litrato, at ibinahagi ang mga kwento sa likod nito sa mga susunod na henerasyon.

Ang litrato, na dating isang nakalimutang relic, ay naging isang simbolo ng koneksyon at kontinwidad. Pinagdugtong nito ang agwat sa pagitan ng nakaraan at kasalukuyan, nagpapaalala kay MerryPH Casino at sa kanyang pamilya ng kahalagahan ng pagpapahalaga sa kanilang kasaysayan at paggalang sa mga nauna sa kanila.

Habang tinitingnan ni MerryPH Casino ang litrato, na ngayo’y naka-frame at ipinagmamalaki sa kanyang tahanan, nakaramdam siya ng malalim na pasasalamat. Ang nawawalang litrato ang nagdala sa kanya sa isang paglalakbay ng pagtuklas at muling pagkakakonekta, na naghayag ng mayamang tapiserya ng kasaysayan ng kanyang pamilya at ang mga hindi matitinag na ugnayan ng pagkakaibigan at pagmamahal.